The Dark Tower in Scorpius
In silhouette against a crowded star fieldalong the tail of the arachnalogical constellationScorpius,this dusty cosmic cloud evokes for some the image of anominousdark tower.In fact, clumps of dust and molecular gascollapsingto form stars may well lurk within the dark nebula,a structure that spans almost 40 light-years across thisgorgeous telescopic portrait.Known as acometary globule, the swept-back cloud,is shaped by intense ultraviolet radiation fromthe OB association of veryhot stars in NGC 6231,off the upper edge of the scene.
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